News in Brief

Two researchers, Oliver Hobert, PhD, and Arthur G. Palmer III, PhD, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Oliver Hobert, PhD, is professor of biological sciences at Morningside and professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics at VP&S. He studies the molecular mechanisms responsible for generating the remarkable diversity of cell types found in the nervous system. Using C. elegans as a model system, his laboratory has revealed the regulatory mechanisms that control terminal neuronal identity and demonstrated that these mechanisms are conserved in chordates. Dr. Hobert is also an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the Department of Systems Biology at VP&S.

Arthur G. Palmer III, PhD, is the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biophysics. He uses nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the structures and dynamical properties of proteins and other macromolecules. Methods developed in Dr. Palmer’s laboratory have opened new opportunities for characterizing rare structural states of macromolecules that are important in diverse biological processes, including enzyme catalysis and molecular recognition.

Lorraine Symington, PhD, the Harold S. Ginsberg Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, was one of more than 90 researchers elected this year to fellowship in the Royal Society, the UK’s national academy of sciences. The Royal Society cited Dr. Symington for her work on the mechanisms of homologous recombination using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as an experimental system.

Jonathan Dworkin, PhD, professor of microbiology & immunology, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for efforts that are considered scientifically or socially distinguished. Dr. Dworkin was elected to the section on biological sciences. His research focuses on understanding how bacteria survive stressful conditions, particularly nutrient limitation, and how these adaptive responses affect their sensitivity to antibiotics.